Snagit cannot capture itself

Specifically ... in Snagit Capture Preferences .. even if you have unchecked "hide snagit when capturing" you CANNOT capture the preferences window. Try and you get the dull system ***thunk***I am able to get it with the Windows Snipping tool That of course leaves me with having to use the snipping tool to show instructions to fellow users in this forumTechsmith ... please fix this if only because it is extremely bad advertising

<sad sigh>I don't hear the "thunk" but apart from that, same here.</sad sigh>Then again, there is no prohibition about discussing long-requested enhancements while continuing to report such bugs, is there?

Um ... good workaround BUT!!! That is not what we should have to do to help provide support in this forum (which is about the only place I ever need to post captures of the snagit program)It is actually easier to call up the snipping tool for the capture the copy and paste as new in the Snagit editorHOWEVER!!!!! If snagit could just take a selfie ... that would be easier

Not to mention the niggling little fact that Joe's method is but one of those nasty ole workarounds that he has claimed to hate so much because they require extra steps when the software SHOULD do this or that! ;)

In order to compile a screen shot that shows 1.Opening Preferences. 2.Accessing a specific Menu and applying change...... Requires multiple screen captures, coupled with exporting to Photoshop to create a completed image.

Recording the screen gives me a lot to work with.I just scrub the timeline to select the best screen shots , save png's and export. So for the most part, SnagIt's shortcoming doesn't bother me.

SnagIt "Never" has been able to capture the Preferences Window using the standard capture technique.So, I suspect it never will. I doubt TechSmith even considers it a bug.

That's cool that Albert CLAESEN knew a keyboard shortcut that places it on the clipboard.

I don't like the Clunky, Long Long Way Around, Ridiculous, Workarounds that I have seen posted in this forum at times.

Some workarounds are creative, but require to much effort. I.E.Most people won't spend 15 or 20 minutes trying to force a text callout to do something Camtasia can't make it do natively.

I've expressed disdain for poorly designed workarounds as opposed to functionality. I won't be changing my position. ﻿

Software is supposed to make our lives easier and if I am required to carry out a long list of steps to achieve something, with many settings along the way, you can be sure I will forget something and not get the expected result (plus I start banging the keyboard and swearing a lot). The computer is supposed to do this drudgery at the speed of electrons.

I can take a piece of wood, carefully mark out a length to cut, all round with pencil and square, repeat with knife, put on sawing block, cut, plane to exact square and spend 10 minutes doing it, or use the drop saw and do it in 10 seconds. There may be a delight in doing it the long way but I can get rapid and consistent results with the drop saw.

For what it's worth, the dialog in question (Snagit Capture Preferences) is a modal dialog. A modal dialog requires the user to interact with it before you can interact with the parent application. That's the way modal dialogs work in all applications, and that's why you can't initiate a capture while this dialog is open.

The same is true of the snipping tool. If you open its Options dialog, which is modal, you cannot initiate a capture, even with its hotkey.

If you need to capture modal dialogs in Snagit, then you'll need to use a different method, because Snagit is busy waiting for user input on the modal dialog. Here's a couple options:

Use Alt + PrtScn to copy the active window to the clipboard. Then in Snagit Editor File > New > New from clipboard (as of Snagit 13.1), or just paste into a blank document in the Snagit Editor.

Use an earlier major version of Snagit. For example, Snagit 12 and 13 can both be installed. You could then use Snagit 12 to capture Snagit 13. Your license key will unlock earlier versions if you want to go this route.

It's worth noting that these workarounds are only necessary for capturing modal dialogs in Snagit's capture tool (Snagit32.exe). You should be able to capture other windows with Snagit in the usual way.

But Dave, how do you.......2. Use an earlier major version of Snagit. For example, Snagit 12 and 13
can both be installed. You could then use Snagit 12 to capture Snagit
13. Your license key will unlock earlier versions if you want to go
this route.

I could never launch 2 versions of SnagIt at the same time, What's the Trick???

I have SnagIt 11 installed these days, along with 2018. Still can't do it, opened the preferences window first.

So, if SnagIt can't capture the modal dialog because "that's the way modal dialogs work in all applications" what particular brand of magic is it that allows the code behind Alt+PrtScn to do it? Why can't Snagit's capture routine mimic that key combination if the first press of its capture key returns nothing?

Thanks for taking the time to come to the underworld to connect with the mortals :)All tips welcome had already got that shortcut workaround, and it does the job, so as far as my priorities the issue is closed.

Learning a thing every day! Wow...soon to be a Snagit nerd.

Had some play. Off to get some dough to pay for the important things in life...

Paul, I think of it like this. Each application likely has its own identifier in the operating system. As Dave said, that particular application can't do it because it's waiting for user interaction. But another application can do whatever it likes, because it is a separate thread with its own unique identification.

I tend to imagine it this way. Consider selfies. I've never taken a selfie myself, but I know folks hold their phone with one hand and their arm extended to take the pic. I consider that like SnagIt in that "non modal" operation. For example, grabbing an image of the editor.

Now consider that you are holding a puppy and using both arms. You don't have an arm free because both are busy until somebody else takes the puppy from you. So you can't grab a picture of you with your arms outstretched holding the puppy. But another person can easily snap the photo because their arms are totally free.

Alt+Print Screen isn't tied to the application at hand. It's a simple operating system function and isn't tied to SnagIt. A bit like that second person.

Hmmm, I don't really see it that way. What happens in the case of video is that another process is started that just begins capturing the screen. I see that more along the lines of having a camera, parking it somewhere where you may record yourself, beginning the recording process, stepping away and grabbing the puppy briefly, putting the puppy back down, stepping back over to the camera and telling it to stop recording.

My guess is that because that recording process is already running in the background, it just merrily captures whatever you are recording. Thus it is immune from the constraints of the basic static image capture. Likely the recorder in SnagIt is part of a different DLL or EXE or something. So that process is separate from the main capture window.

I'm sure that Dave can explain it much better than I am trying to. LOL

I read this string, and still I feel that this is the part where I ask "why can't I make a SnagIt video of how-to use SnagIt video to capture splash screens, and other fastly-moving objects on my screen?"

I watched the "How-To-SnagIt" videos that come with the software, and this is how I learned to get what I need from the program. But not all the users at my company will (or have) consumed these helpful videos. I still want to share this information with my coworkers - How can I make a short "SnagIt video of how-to use SnagIt video"..?

The issue with that is the same issue you would have if you had a video camera. How do you record a video of the camera you are using and want to show others how to use? You can't if you are using the same camera. You need a separate camera to accomplish that.

So you might consider downloading and using Camtasia to create that video. Of course, it will be watermarked as it will be the evaluation copy, but I believe you will find it's really the only way to achieve it.

The Snagit video is a screen grabber and may not make the quality that you need. Try making one but if you are not getting things the way you want them, you can always send out links to the nice videos that Techsmith has already made and then make a quick video to demonstrate something that is specific to your environment